Door hinge



June 14, 1966 R, MacDONALD 3,255,484 7 DOOR HINGE Filed July 16, 1965 INVENTOR. #05527 0 Mafia/440 Fig-l BY @M? Arrow/E v5 by also serves as anaxis or pivot therefor.

3,255,484 DOOR HINGE Robert Douglas MacDonald, Adrian, Mich, assignor toBildwel Company, Adrian,'Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed July 16,1965, Ser. No. 472,624 7 Claims. (Cl. 16-18tl) This application is acontinuation-in-part application of my co-pending application, SerialNo. 235,217, entitled Latchless Door Hinge, filed November 5, 1962, nowPatent No. 3,205,532.

This invention relates to an improved hinge for latchless doors, whichhinge is capable of urging a door toward and beyond its closed position,and more particularly to such a hinge having an improved pressure memberthrough which the closing force is applied.

Hinges of the type to which the present invention relates are designedto keep a door tightly closed without the use of any latch whatsoeverand are primarily designed for use with cabinet doors, such as those ofkitchen cabinets. One portion of the hinge has a spring carrying apressure member which contacts an engageable part on a second portion ofthe hinge as the door moves toward the closed position in a manner suchthat the door is urged beyond its closed position. Hence, when the dooris closed, it is continuously urged against a door stop attached to thedoor or the cabinet frame so that no latch is required. The eliminationof the latch substantially reduces the cost of the cabinet byeliminating the cost of the latch and the cost of installing it, thelatter frequently requiring considerable time in order to assure thatthe latch components are aligned properly. Further, the latch componentsoften become misaligned during changes in the weather, for example, sothat readjustment is periodically required. Misalignment of the latchcomponents also occurs during settling of the building wail supportingthe cabinet. The components also fail to catch properly to latch thedoor as the components become worn.

The new hinges further have the advantage that the door with which theyare used is closed tightly without bouncing, even when it is slammedshut.

The new latchless door hinge incorporates a unique pressure member whichincludes a plastic core rotatably held on a part of the spring used inthe hinge and a metal sheath or sleeve around the plastic core. The newpressure member rolls freely on the hingespring which there- Thecombination of the plastic body and the metal sheath eliminates theexcessive wear which has heretofore occurred with plastic pressuremembers. These members have had a tendency to skid relative to the otherportion of the hinge with which they are in contact, with the resultthat the plastic members wear excessively at the point. of contact,rather than rolling with the hinge portion. The new combination pressuremember also is a substantial improvement over all-metal pressure memberswhich cause early breaking of the spring, apparently due to metalfatigue or wear of the spring as the pressure member rotates thereon.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide animproved latchless door hinge.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latchless door hingewith a composite pressure member which reduces wear and provides alonger life for the hinge.

Many other objects and advantages of the invention will'be apparent fromthe following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in horizontal cross section through a cabinet andshowing a cabinet frame, a cabinet door, and

a latchless door hinge embodying the invention;

United States Patent "Ice FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the hingeshown in FIG. 1, with the hinge in a closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the hinge shown in FIG. 2, with thehinge in an open position;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view in perspective of the hinge, showing thevarious parts thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, side view in elevation showing the hinge partsof FIG. 4 in assembled relationship;

FIG. 6 is a view in vertical cross section through a composite roller ofthe door hinge showing a fragmentary portion of a hinge spring; and

FIG. 7 is a view in perspective of the composite roller shown in FIG. 6.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 1, a cabinet ofthe type commonly found in kitchens is indicated at 10 in FIG. 1 andincludes sides 12 and 14 and side frame members 16 and 18 forming a dooropening 20. A door 22 of the lip type covers the opening and has lips 24and 26 extending beyond the opening 20 in front of the frame members 16and 18 with upper'and lower lips (not shown) at the top and bottom ofthe door 22 similarly extending beyond the upper and lower edges of theopening 20. A stop 28- of suitable resilient matei'ial such as feltspaces the door lip 26 from the frame member 18 while a latchless doorhinge indicated at 30 spaces the lip 24 from the side frame member 16.The

inwardly extending portion of the door 22 which extends into the opening20 is smaller than the opening 20 so that the entire door 22 is spacedfrom the frame members of the cabinet 10. This enables considerablevariations in the dimensions of the'opening and the door, with the doorstill covering the entire opening.

Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the latchless door hinge 30, two or more ofwhich are employed along the hinge edge of the door 22, includes a firstportion 32 which is attached to the side frame member 16 and a secondportion 34 which is aflixed to the inner surface of the door and to thelip 24. The first portion 32 includes a back plate 36 having openings 38therein to receive screws 40 (FIG. 1) which are turned into the framemember 16 to aflix the first hinge portion 32 thereto. A pair of sidetabs 42 and 44 extend outwardly from the back plate 36 and terminate inhinge pin sleeves 46 and 48. Intermediate the side tabs 42 and 44 are apair of spring-retaining ears 50 and 52 which extend outwardly from theback plate 36 a distance only about half that of the tabs 42 and 44.

A spring cover 54- (FIG. 4) includes a web 56 offset from a pair of endplates S 8 and 60 having retaining tabs 62 and 64. Th web 56 is of alength substantially equal to the distance between the tabs 42 and 44 soas to cover the gap therebetween and provide a neater appearance for thehinge. The end plates 58 and 60 fit immediately inside the tabs 42 and44 with the retaining tabs 62 and 64 extending beyond the back plate 36,when assembled.

The second hinge portion 34 includes an offset hinge plate 66 designedto fit with the lip door 22, as shown in FIG. 1. The plate 66 includes aplurality of circular openings 68 to receive screws 70 (FIG. 1) by meansof which the plate is afiixed to the inner surface of the door 22. Thehinge portion 34 also includes an intermediate tab 72 terminating in anintermediate hinge pin sleeve 74 which is aligned with the bearingsleeves 46 and 48 when assembled therewith to receive a hinge pin 76.The width of the tab 72 is slightly less than the distance between thetabs 42 and 44. The bearing sleeve 74 has a notch 78 along an edgethereof with the notch formingan edge or engageable part 80 extendingthe length of the notch. A cylindrical pressure member or roller 82 isrotatably mounted on an intermediate portion of a-resilient springspring rod 84 terminating in doubled-back end portions 86 and 88. Partof the doubled-back end portions 86 and 88 extend beyond the ears 50 and52 and are squeezed fo a sprung position as the pressure member 82 isforced .between the ears 50 and 52 when the bearing sleeve 74 is forcedagainst the pressure member and into alignment with the sleeves 44 and46 so that the hinge pin 76 can be assembled. The spring rod 84 thenurges the pressure member 82 outwardly toward the intermediate sleeve74. The doubled-backends 86 and 88- of the spring 84 enable asubstantial force to be placed on the sleeve by the pressure member 82,much more than is possible with many other types of springs.

With the door open, the pressure member 82 is forced against and rollson the arcuate portion of the intermediate sleeve 74 with the pressureof the pressure me-mber tending to help the door stay in anypredetermined open position. This tends to prevent, except in extremecases, the door from swinging shut or more fully open due to a slightlyslanted position of the cabinet frame, or to breezes, or to accidentalbumping, by Way of example. As the door is moved toward a closedposition, the pressure member 82 will roll over the engageable edge 80and partially into the notch 78. During this movement, the only contactof the pressure member with the second hinge portion 34 is through theedge 80 and the force of the pressure member 82 is directed to one sideof the axis of the hinge pin 7 6 which causes the door to move towardthe closed position. Hence, when the door moves beyond a predeterminedposition toward the closed position, the hinge will, through the forceof the spring rod 84 and the pressure member 82, move the door fully tothe closed position and continue to urge it beyond this position.Further, due to the force of the spring, the door will not bounce ifslammed shut as will conventional doors but rather will remain in theclosed position, with only the minutest bouncing effect resulting underthe most severe slamming.

A considerable amount of pressure is placed on the pressure member 82 asit is squeezed between the spring rod 84 and the intermediate sleeve 74.Previously, the pressure member 82 has been made of plastic materialwhich has operated satisfactorily from the standpoint of not marring theintermediate sleeve 74 or otherwise damaging the hinge. However, it hasbeen found that a plastic pressure member tends to slide on the hingepin sleeve rather than rolling thereon, with the result that thepressure member wears and, with further wear, more sliding and lessrolling occurs. As the surface of the pressure member wears and flattensfurther, the hinge tends towork improperly because the pressure memberdoes not contact the engageabl'eedge 80 in the desired manner. Inaddition, the force of the spring is decreased as the part of thepressure member between the spring and the sleeve becomes thinner, andeventually the pressure member will Wear through. On the other hand,previous attempts have been made to use a pressure member entirely ofmetal. This again has met with unsatisfactory results, primarily becausethe metal tends to cause the pressure member to wear the spring rod atthe portion on which it rotates and causes the spring rod to break,either through wear or metal fatigue.

In accordance with the invention, the pressure member 82 is found to beentirely satisfactory when made of a composite structure. As shown, thepressure member 82' includes a central annular core or body 90 ofplastic material which is in contact with and rotates on the spring rod84. Around the plastic core 90 is a metal sleeve 92 which is suitablyaffixed to and is functionally integral with the plastic core 90. Asshown, the sleeve 92 is force fitted on the plastic core 90. Thecomposite pressure member 82 overcomes the above defects of either anall plastic or an all metal pressure member. The new member does notcause the spring rod 84 to break, apparently because of the plastic core90 which provides some resiliency for the pressure member relative tothe spring rod, The sleeve 92, on the other hand, rolls on i the sleeve74 without slip so as not to wear unduly at any one portion nor to marthe intermediate'sleeve 74 due to sliding of the two members, onerelative to the other.

In a preferred form, the plastic core and the sleeve 92 are ofsubstantially equal length and are slightly shorter than the length ofthe notch 78 so as to fit therein without difficulty. The pressuremember also is shorter than the distance between the ears 50 and 52 soas to fit therebetween and freely rotate on the rod 84.

The core 90, in a preferred form, can be made of a slippery plasticmaterial; One such suitable material is available from Liquid NitrogenProducts of Malvern, Pennsylvania, under the name Fulton 404',v thismaterial being of a silicone material with fifteen percent Teflon. Thesleeve 92 preferably is of stainless steel. The upper end of the sleeve92, as shown in FIGS. 6 and. 7, preferably is rounded to facilitateassembly of the core and sleeve and. the lower end of the sleeve isslightly rounded for manufacturing purposes. The rounded end portionsalso reduce the possibility of their tending to groove the bearingsleeve. The wall thickness of the sleeve is much less than that of thecore with the wall thickness of the core being from approximatelyone-and-one-half times to five times the thickness of the sleeve 92. Ifthe ratio exceeds this, the sleeve may be too thin and will deform andslide relative to the hinge pin sleeve and, hence, may wear through andalso mar the hinge pin sleeve. On the other hand, if the ratio is toolow, the plastic core may not be of sufficient thickness to protect thespring rod,

which will then fail due to wear or fatigue.

Various modifications of the above described embodiment of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is to be understoodthat such modifications can be made without departing'from the scope ofthe invention, if they are within the spirit of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1'. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, a hinge pin pivotally connecting said first and saidsecond portions, said first portion including means to receive afastener for attaching said first portion to one ofsaid frame and saiddoor and spaced hinge pin bearing sleeves extending from saidfastener-receiving means and receiving said hinge pin, said second hingeportion including second means to receive a fastener for attaching saidsecond portion to the other of said door and said frame and anintermediate hinge pin bearing sleeve extending from said secondfastener-receiving means and receiving an intermediate portion of saidhinge pin, said intermediate bearing sleeve having an arcuate surfaceand a recess forming an edge with saidsurface, spring means having endportions held by said first hinge portion and having an intermediatepor-tionurged toward said intermediate bearing sleeve, a cylindricalpressure member mounted on the intermediate portion of said springmeans, said pressure member being urged against said arcuate surface ofsaid intermediate bearing sleeve when said door is open and saidpressure member moving beyond said edge and partially into said recesswhen said door is moved toward a closed position, said cylindricalpressure member constituting a cylindrical plastic body having a centralpassage rotatably received on said spring means and 'a metal sleevearound said'plastic body and aflixedthereto.

2. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, a hinge pin pivotally connecting said first and saidsecond portions, said first portion including means to receive afastener for attaching said first portion to one of said frame and saiddoor and a first hinge pin bearing sleeve extending from saidfastener-receiving means and receiving saidhinge pin, said second hingeportion including second means to receive a fastener for attaching saidsecond portion to the other of said door and said frame and a secondhinge pin bearing sleeve extending from said second fastener-receivingmeans and receiving a portion of said hinge pin, said second bearingsleeve having an arcuate surface and engageable mean-s, an elongatespring having an end portion held by said first hinge portion and havinga spaced portion urged toward said second bearing sleeve, a cylindricalpressure member mounted on the spaced portion of said spring, saidpressure member being urged against said arcuate surface of said secondbearing sleeve when said door is open and said pressure member engagingsaid engageable means when said door is moved toward a closed position,said cylindrical pressure member constituting a cylindrical plastic bodyhaving a central passage rotatably received on said spring means and ametal sleeve around said plastic body and afiixed thereto.

3. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, a hinge pin pivotally connecting said first and saidsecond portions, said first portion including means to receive afastener for attaching said first portion to one of said frame and saiddoor and a first hinge pin bearing-sleeve extending from saidfastener-receiving means and receiving said hinge pin, said second hingeportion having second means to receive a fastener for attaching saidsecond portion to the other of said door and said frame and a secondhinge pine bearing sleeve extending from said second fastener-receivingmeans and receiving a portion of said hinge pin, said second bearingsleeve including engageable means, an elongate spring having a portionheld by said first hinge portion and having a spaced portion urgedtoward said second bearing sleeve, a cylindrical pressure member mountedon the spaced portion of said spring, said pressure member being urgedagainst said engageable means of said second bearing sleeve when saiddoor is moved toward a closed position, said cylindrical pressure memberconstituting a cylindrical plastic body having a central passagerotatably received on said spring means and a metal sleeve around saidplastic body and affixed thereto.

4. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, a hinge pin pivotally connecting said first and saidsecond portions, said first portion including means to receive afastener for attaching said first portion to one of said frame and saiddoor, said first portion also having means extending from said fastenermeans and receiving said hinge pin, said second hinge portion havingsecond means to receive a fastener for attaching said second portion tothe other of said door and said frame, said second hinge portion havingadditional means for receiving a portion of said hinge pin, said secondportion also including engageable means, an elongate spring having aportion held by said first hinge portion and a spaced portion urgedtoward said engageable means, a cylindrical pressure member mounted onthe spaced portion of said spring and urged against said engageablemeans when said door is moved toward a closed position, said cylindricalpressure member constituting a cylindrical plastic body having a centralpassage rotatably received on said spaced portion of said spring and ametal sleeve mounted on said plastic body.

5. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion pivotally connected together, said first portionincluding means to receive a fastener for attaching said first portionto one of said frame and said door, said first portion also having meansextending from said fastener means and receiving said hinge pin, saidsecond hinge portion having a second means to receive a fastener forattaching said second portion to the other of said door and said frame,said second hinge portion having additional means for receiving aportion of said hinge pin, said second portion forming an arcuatesurface and engageable means, an elongate spring having a portion heldby said first hinge portion and a spaced portion urged toward saidarcuate surface and said engageable means, a cylindrical pressure membermounted on the spaced portion of said spring and urged against saidarcuate surface and said engageable means when said door is moved, saidcylindrical pressure member constituting a cylindrical plastic bodyhaving a central passage rotatably received on said spaced portion ofsaid spring and a metal sleeve mounted on said plastic body.

6. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, means pivotally connecting said first portion and saidsecond portion, said first portion including means for attaching saidfirst portion to one of said frame and said door, said second hingeportion including second means for attaching said second portion to theother of said door and said frame, a resilient rod having at least oneportion held by said first hinge portion and having a second portionurged toward the second hinge portion, a cylindrical pressure membermounted on the second portion of said resilient rod, said pressuremember being urged against a portion of said second hinge portion whenthe door is moved toward a closed position, to urge the door to andbeyond the closed position, said cylindrical pressure memberconstituting a cylindrical plastic body havinga central passagerotatably received on said second portion of said resilient rod and ametal sleeve mounted on said plastic body.

7. A hinge to pivotally connect a door to a frame so that the door willclose without a latch, said hinge comprising a first portion and asecond portion, means pivotally connecting said first portion and saidsecond portion, a resilient rod having at least one portion held by saidfirst hinge portion and having a second portion urged toward the secondhinge portion, a cylindrical pressure member mounted on the secondportion of said resilient rod, said pressure member being urged againsta portion of said second'hinge portion when the door is moved toward aclosed position, to urged the door to and beyond the closed position,said cylindrical pressure member constituting a cylindrical plastic bodyhaving a central passage rotatably received on said second portion ofsaid resilient rod and a metal sleeve mounted on said plastic body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,811,740 11/1957Bevilacqua "16-142 FOREIGN PATENTS 270,694 1/ 1928 Great Britain.

JOSEPH SEERS, Primary Examiner.

D. L. BURGESS, Assistant Examiner.

7. A HINGE TO PIVOTALLY CONNECT A DOOR TO A FRAME SO THAT THE DOOR WILLCLOSE WITHOUT A LATCH, SAID HINGE COMPRISING A FIRST PORTION AND ASECOND PORTION, MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID FIRST PORTION AND SAIDSECOND PORTION, A RESILIENT ROD HAVING AT LEAST ONE PORTION HELD BY SAIDFIRST HINGE PORTION AND HAVING A SECOND PORTION URGED TOWARD THE SECONDHINGE PORTION, A CYLINDRICAL PRESSURE MEMBER MOUNTED ON THE SECONDPORTION OF SAID RESILIENT ROD, SAID PRESSURE MEMBER BEING URGED AGAINSTA PORTION OF SAID SECOND HINGE PORTION WHEN THE DOOR IS MOVED TOWARD ACLOSED POSITION, TO URGED THE DOOR TO AND BEYOND THE CLOSED POSITION,SAID CYLINDRICAL PRESSURE MEMBER CONSTITUTING A CYLINDRICAL PLASTIC BODYHAVING A CENTRAL PASSAGE ROTATABLY RECEIVED ON SAID SECOND POERTION OFSAID RESILIENT ROD AND A METAL SLEEVE MOUNTED ON SAID PLASTIC BODY.